Please, Just Don't Go To Leeds

Since I’ve moved to the UK for the majority of my time I’ve lived in Leeds, a city which is located in the region of West Yorkshire. Upon my arrival in Leeds, I haven’t properly researched the city, as I was ready to explore and learn about it firsthand. Little did I know that Leeds will become one of the toughest cities that I have lived in so far, and looks like I am not the only one of the similar opinion.

There are loads of pros of living in Leeds, as its a quite multicultural city with affordable prices for housing, good connections to other small towns and cities. However, Leeds has also some bad reputations especially for being dirty and grey. The city centre is built up and not very pretty but it does have some good restaurants and bars — if that’s what you are into.

Compared to major cities in Europe, Leeds has fewer opportunities and is less picturesque, it has loads of no-go neighbourhoods and when you add the poor weather into the mix, with the industrial background you will somehow realize that you are actually living in one of the toughest cities in the UK.

Here are the main reasons why.

You won't feel “safe” when in Leeds.

Before moving to Leeds, I’ve lived in very safe cities in Europe (such as Prague), so it was a shock when I figured out that many areas in Leeds during the afternoon and especially at night aren’t safe. There are also many neighbourhoods which are dangerous.

I always avoid walking home alone late, I am never going through parks or lesser frequented streets. Apparently, burglaries in Leeds are very normal and it's very uncommon not to get burgled or have your things stolen.

It's something some people can get used to easily, however for me this was one of the things that I wasn’t able to get over. Feeling safe and being able to walk home alone in the middle of the night (after a night out) is something that I was always used to before moving to Leeds.

Living in Leeds has taught me to always take an Uber or taxi and be more cautious than risking walking home alone.

Leeds can be perceived as “grim” and “ugly”.

Leeds is not London. When I walk around London I can’t help but look up and admire the beautiful buildings, while Leeds skyline is full of short and somehow “ugly” buildings.

There are many buildings in Leeds that are short in character and are a no-go for tourists. Maybe that’s why you can rarely see a tourist in Leeds. After all, Leeds was and still is an industrial city. The worlds first steam locomotive was made in Leeds!

Also, Leeds has the oldest running commercial railway in the world. Middleton Colliery Railway was established in 1758 to transport coals to neighbouring quarries.

Today, it’s a railway operated to re-create history. You can even ride the same tour from Moor Road to Park Halt Station to explore the Middleton park museum.

The majority of houses in Leeds are “red-bricked” as the area was populated by factory workers so if you are looking for charming little English cottages you will have to search for areas beyond Leeds.

Not all literary giants liked Leeds.

Charles Dickens has been to Leeds too. However, his impressions were not very good. He has described the city as ‘an odious place’. Visiting Leeds wasn’t a very flattering experience for Mr Dickens, as he perceived it as one of the dirtiest places he had ever visited. One account of a visit can be found in the book “All the Year Round” in a chapter called “A Dash into Yorkshire”.

Leeds weather is for thick-skinned.

The cons of living in Leeds is the weather as it often rains and the winters are quite dark and snow-less.

I have tried to adapt to the weather during these few years but haven’t succeeded. I am always cold (even in the summer) and I wear many layers, it's easy for others to guess that I am not British. I am shocked, however, how many people in Leeds wear shorts during winter when it's 12 degrees.

The weather is colder in Yorkshire than in many parts of the UK. And if you are moving up north then you will definitely need to invest in some winter clothing. Getting a waterproof jacket is a must if you wish to survive Leeds weather, especially if you are used to living somewhere warm, so be ready to put layers on.

At the same time, Leeds can sometimes be very windy and when it rains you will get very wet.

Leeds has a limited choice of cultural events.

You will not find the variety of takeaways or food ingredients that you can in other parts of the country. There will not be the choice of local stores, or a taxi to hail, or the number of theatres to go to that you are used to.

Because overall Leeds is very small. As someone who’s grown up in a big city, Leeds is pretty boring. Everything closes early including restaurants, clubs, cinemas, you name it. I wouldn’t recommend Leeds to anyone that is not living on a tight budget as that is the only thing it is good for.

Yes, the University of Leeds maybe for some a great place to study but you need to balance out what your priorities are before deciding to come to this little city. This gets me to another point…

Leeds is full of ravaging students.

It was a shock when I’ve checked the University area, as it seems that the students just party every day. The whole university area which is based in Headingley is often trashed, dirty and crowded with drunken students.

In some sense the whole “Leeds University” is taking over many parts of Leeds, buying or expanding lands to provide more housing offers for students. It’s a vicious circle.

Leeds poverty numbers are on the rise.

There are many poor people in Leeds. Whenever you go to the city, you will encounter beggars and drug addicts. Leeds has lately seen one of the biggest rises in child poverty in Yorkshire.

Hopefully, it's not as bad as Bradford (a neighbouring town) which has officially become one of the worst towns in the UK and where almost a third of children are living in poverty.

The latest figures show that 30.4% of children in Bradford live in a household where at least one benefit is claimed while the England average is 15.3%.

It's very sad that this is still an active issue in not so long ago a world’s leading country such as the UK.

Not everything in Leeds is that bad though, there are plenty of reasons why visiting Leeds is worth your while and one of them is to be able to say that you have lived in one of the tougher cities in the UK and that you have “got out” and found a better place for yourself and your family.

Because unfortunately, Leeds has a lot of improvements to make.

I like it (a little bit) anyway.

Thank you for reading.

This article was originally published here.